Game Rulings & Clarifications - Utopia Fleet Builder

This page contains unofficial compiled rulings from various sources. Always check the official WizKids FAQ for the most current rulings.

Official Sources

Latest Rulebook

Official STAW Rulebook PDF

WizKids Forum

Official Star Trek Attack Wing Forum

FAQ December 2014

Official FAQ & Errata December 2014

FAQ May 2016

Official FAQ & Errata May 2016

General Game Mechanics

Abilities Requiring Disabling or Discarding

Clarification: If an upgrade card requires you to discard or disable it for its effect, then it is optional.

Source: WizKids Forums

Abilities Requiring Tokens

Key Rulings:

If an upgrade card requires a token to activate but that token has been used to activate a different upgrade, a second token of that type would be needed.
Captains and ships are not considered upgrades, but if they use an effect requiring a token, that same token may not be used for another effect.

This rule overturns an earlier ruling that allowed the same token to be used for a Captain effect AND an Upgrade effect.

You may spend a token that was used to activate an ability.

Sources: FAQ 2016 and Earlier Ruling

Admirals

Clarification: An admiral replaces a captain immediately if the captain is discarded. The skill change takes effect in the next phase (Planning, Activation, Combat, or End).

Source: WizKids Forums

Auxiliary Power Tokens

Key Rulings:

Auxiliary Power Tokens are placed before any “after you move” effects.
You can remove multiple Auxiliary Power Tokens through extra movement actions.

Source: WizKids Forums

Borg Captains

Key Rulings:

A disabled Borg Captain has a skill of 1 regardless of remaining Borg Drone Tokens.
A disabled Borg Captain with zero drone tokens still has a skill of 1.

Source: WizKids Forums

Captain Faction Required

Clarification: Cards that require a particular faction captain are not satisfied by an admiral of that faction.

Source: WizKids Forums

Card Cost Modifications

Clarification:

Penalties are applied before discounts (such as faction penalty).
Cost reductions are applied in whatever order is desired by the player.

Source: WizKids Forums

Damage Cards

Clarification: You may not shuffle or rearrange the damage cards assigned to a ship.

Source: WizKids Forums

Defense Dice

Clarification: Even if you are reduced to zero defense dice, you may still modify the roll by adding an evade result with an evade token (assuming you are in the combat phase).

Source: WizKids Forums

Disable Tokens

Clarification: Removing a Disable Token as an action may only be performed once per round per ship, even if granted a free action by another card.

Source: WizKids Forums

Disabling Shields

Clarification: Cards that require you to “disable all shields” require at least one shield. Cards that require you to “disable all remaining shields” do not require shields to use.

Source: WizKids Forums

Elite Talents

Important Clarification: Elite talents are tied to the card that provided the slot. If the Captain, Admiral, or crew member is discarded or moved to another ship, the elite talent follows.

This rule overturns an earlier ruling that elite talent upgrades were tied to the ship.

Source: Current Ruling | Old Ruling

Facedown Cards

Clarification: Facedown cards cannot be affected by other cards.

Source: WizKids Forums

Fighters

Key Restrictions:

Fighters cannot have an assigned Admiral.
Fighters cannot have any Upgrade that is not a Squadron Upgrade.
Fighters cannot benefit from resource cards.
Fighters cannot use Fleet Actions.

Source: WizKids Forums

Fleeing the Battlefield

Clarification: The maneuver template may be off the board. As long as the base of the ship (once the maneuver is complete) is on the board, the ship has not fled.

Source: WizKids Forums

Mines & Obstacles

Mines - General Rules

Key Rulings:

Any produced minefield token shape may be used for any card requiring one.
Order of activation: Ship moves → Minefield activates → Action performed

Earlier ruling suggested order was: Ship moves → Action → Mine triggers. The newer ruling clarifies mines trigger before actions.

A ship that is on a mine token and either bumps, uses full stop, or otherwise fails to move off the token retriggers the minefield.
Moving into or out of mine areas during the action phase (via Sensor Echo or additional moves) triggers mines. However, moving within the same minefield area does not retrigger if already triggered that turn.
Tokens may not be spent in defending against a mine attack. However, cards which trigger from tokens may be used.

Sources: FAQ 2016 and multiple forum rulings

Obstacles

Clarification: Sensor Echo does not count as movement, so it neither causes you to:

Roll for damage from obstacles
Lose your Perform Action Step

Source: WizKids Forums

Modifying Dice & Tokens

Modifying Dice Outside Combat Phase

Important Restrictions:

Target Locks may only be spent during the combat phase (not outside of it) to reroll dice.
Battlestation Tokens may only be spent during the combat phase to convert dice.
Scan tokens reduce defense dice only during the combat phase.
Cloak tokens - The ruling about +4 defense dice only in combat phase is likely outdated. Current rules state cloak replaces printed agility with agility +4.

Source: WizKids Forums

Drone Tokens

Clarification: Drone Tokens may be spent from a disabled Captain if another upgrade is using them.

Source: WizKids Forums

Time Tokens

Key Rulings:

Time tokens placed on a captain do not affect any Elite Talents assigned to that captain.
While time tokens are on a card, the text is considered blank.
You may discard or disable a card with time tokens to activate an effect.

Source: WizKids Forums

Special Ship Types

Space Stations (Nor)

Key Restrictions:

Nor Space Stations cannot gain Evade Tokens, even from cards.
Nor Space Stations cannot be a flagship.
Nor Space Stations cannot gain agility from game effects, but may gain additional defense dice.
If a Nor chooses not to move, it cannot activate “after you move” effects.
A Nor cannot be moved by any effects other than the maneuver dial set by the owning player.
A Nor may attack once per turn normally (with main weapon OR through a pylon), not both.

Source: Multiple WizKids Forums rulings

Shuttlecraft

Clarification: Rule #3 from the rulebook states “You cannot equip cards to a shuttlecraft with a cost of more than 3 SP.” This refers to discounted cost, not printed cost.

Source: WizKids Forums

Squadrons

Key Rules:

Squadrons are not affected by cards that directly target ships.
Minefields work normally regarding placement and affecting squadrons.
Special interaction: Worf (Admiral/Captain) cannot grant a free attack to a squadron.

Source: WizKids Forums

Spin Maneuver

Clarification: If a spin maneuver bumps (either during movement or the final spin), it completes the spin maneuver but moves back along its forward template until it is not overlapping.

Source: WizKids Forums

Resources

Flagship

Key Rulings:

Klingon Flagship: Adds a cloak action if missing, but does NOT add a sensor echo action.
Romulan, Federation, and Klingon Flagships: Effects are optional and can only be activated once per round.
Independent Dominion Flagship: May grant extra movement to a friendly ship whether it has already moved or not. The movement granted must exist on the target’s movement dial.
Nor Space Stations cannot be a flagship.

Source: WizKids Forums

Fleet Captain

Key Rulings:

If Elite Talent granted by Fleet Captain and captain is discarded with no admiral, the extra Elite Talent is discarded too.
The free talent is reduced to zero cost then modified by faction penalty.
Free talent must be equipped to the Captain, not an Admiral or Crew.
Independent Fleet Captain makes your Captain dual faction (Independent + Original faction).
If your Captain is disabled, the text on Fleet Captain is also disabled.
May be assigned to Mirror Unique captains.
If captain moves to another ship (e.g., Borg Queen), Fleet Captain goes with the captain.
Cannot be applied to Gareb (Captain).

Source: Multiple WizKids Forums rulings

Fleet Commander

Key Rules:

If a Captain is discarded or moved, immediately discard Fleet Commander and decrease hull or shields by one.
Highest skill captain is primary captain. If tied, player chooses at game start.
An admiral may only replace if both captains are discarded/disabled.
Borg Drone tokens only on primary captain.
Cannot be used with: Jhamel, Romulan Drone Pilot, or Gareb.

Source: WizKids Forums

Master Strategist

Key Rulings:

Token may be used as a target lock without specifying a ship in advance (but only to reroll attack dice).
May be used to reroll dice on cloaked ships.
You may use Master Strategist Token as scan, battlestation, or evade even if you already have one of those tokens.
Once assigned to a specific token type, it cannot change types.
Tactical Officer interaction: Does NOT count as a target lock for Tactical Officer’s ability.

Source: WizKids Forums

Reinforcements Sideboard

Key Rulings:

If you move a Captain of different faction, you still place auxiliary power token.
If you move a Captain granting free action, you may use it if eligible.
Cards specific to ship types can be on sideboard but only equipped to matching ship.
Sideboard is considered universal faction (no faction penalty), but all additional costs apply.

Source: WizKids Forums

Special Mechanics

Rule of 3

Clarification: Cards which set values “at +1” (such as hull at +1) are modifiers for purposes of Rule of 3.

Source: WizKids Forums

Sensor Echo

Clarification: Sensor Echo does not count as movement, so it:

Does not cause obstacle damage rolls
Does not cause loss of Perform Action Step

Source: WizKids Forums

Slots

Key Rulings:

Slots granted by upgrades do not persist (if slot is vacated during play, it’s gone).
A slot granted by a card is only granted during fleet building. Stealing a card that adds slots does not grant slots.
If an upgrade providing slots is discarded/disabled, upgrades in those slots remain in play. However, you may not trade or redeploy to fill those slots.

Source: WizKids Forums

Stealing

Clarification: If a card is stolen with an attached resource (Fleet Captain or Officer), the attached resource is discarded (not stolen).

Source: WizKids Forums

Card-Specific Rulings

For card-specific rulings and interactions, please refer to the original FAQ.html source document organized by faction: